Small apartments on the secondary market in Poland’s largest cities are moving faster. A typical studio now disappears from listings after 50 days—ten days sooner than a year ago—while new supply is one-fifth lower than two years earlier. SonarHome.pl data suggest the recovery reflects returning demand, fewer properties and improved mortgage conditions.
Studios were long considered the housing market’s most liquid segment, but even they slowed noticeably in 2025. Conditions began changing in early 2026, and by the third quarter listings were disappearing at a pace last seen in autumn 2024.
Across Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Łódź, median studio listing time was 50 days in the third quarter, compared with 60 a year earlier and 64 at the start of 2026: a 17% annual reduction. Meanwhile, 28% disappeared within the first 30 days.
Small flats still move substantially faster than larger homes. Apartments of 36–60 sq m remained listed for a median 61 days, while those above 60 sq m took 90 days. Studios were the only segment with a typical listing period below two months.
The recovery began before summer
The first clear signs appeared around the turn of 2025 and 2026. Among studios listed in the first quarter of 2026, 57.5% disappeared within 60 days, almost matching early 2024. The measure had fallen to 49.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and hovered around 50% through subsequent quarters of 2025. In the second quarter of 2026, 56.8% found a buyer or disappeared within 60 days.
“This matters because listing analysis separates a genuine change in market speed from the effect of clearing out older advertisements. The acceleration is not simply the removal of long-standing listings: newly listed homes have also begun disappearing faster,” said Anton Bubiel, a housing-market expert at SonarHome.pl.
The improvement was uneven. Poznań recorded the sharpest change: between July and 20 September 2026, median studio listing time fell from 59 to 38 days. Warsaw dropped from 63 to 52 days, Wrocław from 62 to 52, Kraków from 60 to 50, and Łódź from 50 to 43. Gdańsk remained unchanged at 56 days.
That contrast corresponds with supply. New studio listings in Gdańsk increased 5.3% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period of 2024. Warsaw’s supply fell 27.4%, Wrocław’s 24.9% and Kraków’s 19.5%. Fewer available properties may encourage buyers to decide sooner.
Local sales experience is more nuanced, however: not every studio owner benefits equally, and the smallest units can be hardest to sell.
“This year we are seeing a moderate increase in studio demand compared with last year. Flats of 30 sq m or more are most popular because they are viewed as more functional and versatile. Interest in studios below 30 sq m is much weaker and they take longer to sell. Correct valuation and a price reflecting real market expectations are particularly important,” said Piotr Gawroński, president of Warsaw agency Propertique., a SonarHome partner.
Fewer homes mean less time to decide
In the first half of 2026, the six cities recorded 6,027 new studio listings, compared with 7,525 two years earlier—a decline of about 20%. New listings of both 36–60 sq m flats and homes above 60 sq m fell 16%. Both larger segments also began moving faster.
The proportion of first-half studio listings disappearing within 60 days fell from 56.1% in 2024 to 51% in 2025 before rising to 57.2% in 2026. For 36–60 sq m flats, the figures were 49.6%, 45.5% and 51.9%; for larger homes, 39.2%, 38.1% and 40.7%.
Faster removals might suggest heavier price cuts, but SonarHome’s data do not support that interpretation. In the third quarter of 2026, 20.5% of studios whose listings disappeared had previously had a price reduction, almost unchanged from 21.3% a year earlier. Listing removal is not necessarily confirmation of a completed sale.
The typical reduction was 4.3% of the asking price, compared with 5% a year earlier and around 5% in 2024.
“This means the current acceleration is not associated with greater pressure on sellers. On the contrary, the typical reduction is now the smallest since the beginning of the period analysed. That does not mean every studio sells at its asking price. The data show, however, that improved liquidity did not require deeper negotiation,” Bubiel said.
Are students driving the market?
A common belief is that late summer and early autumn automatically bring a seasonal demand surge as the academic year begins. SonarHome’s figures do not confirm such a simple relationship.
Studios did disappear slightly faster than larger apartments in August and September 2024, but the difference was only 3–4% and did not recur consistently. The August studio sales index—comparing the month’s pace with the annual average—was 0.967 in 2024, below that average. It rose to 1.018 in 2025 and 1.18 in 2026. Larger apartments also accelerated in August 2026, with an index of 1.093, making it difficult to attribute the improvement solely to students.
“The December slowdown is much more consistent. Studio sales in December are on average about 14% below the annual average, with a similar effect in other segments. The most plausible picture emerges by combining several factors. The housing market slowed markedly in 2025, while the 2026 improvement covered both studios and larger flats. At the same time, new listings remained below their level two years earlier,” Bubiel said.
Financing conditions also changed. Between May 2025 and March 2026, the NBP reference rate fell from 5.75% to 3.75%. Mortgage lending by value in the first half of 2026 was 60% higher than a year earlier, which may have contributed to faster activity, although the timing alone does not establish causation. Buyers have become more active while having fewer homes to choose from, potentially encouraging quicker decisions, especially for small properties.
Source: ManagerPlus and SonarHome.pl.
